Folate cuts family risk of colon cancer

Good nutrition, including regular intake of the vitamin folate, reduces one’s risk of colon cancer. According to a 16-year study of nearly 90,000 women, the vitamin’s protective effect is greatest among women whose families have been affected by the disease.

Between 1980 and 1996, Charles S. Fuchs and his colleagues at Harvard Medical School in Boston questioned thousands of nurses about their dietary habits and whether family members had suffered colon or rectal cancer.